A new trailer for Metro Exodus has dropped, and this one sheds light on all aspects of the game. It briefly goes over weapon customization and combat. However, it also offers a closer glimpse at how missions work.
After five years in development, the video narrator labels Metro Exodus the “most ambitious work yet” by developer 4A Games. And it really shows. Moving away from the tunnel-crawling exploits of Metro 2033 and Metro Last Light, Exodus drops players into the open world of post-apocalyptic Russia. The story takes place over the course of a year, where series protagonist Artyom and a group of survivors travel across the continent. Seasons change, beginning with Spring, all the way to “nuclear winter.”
No longer stuck in tunnels, the game has shifted its focus. With the larger environment, the game encourages exploration and survival. You visit enemy outposts and shady towns, all the while using nothing more than a compass and map to guide your heading.
“The world of Metro Exodus has been hand crafted to award exploration,” the narrator says. “Every location you find has a story to tell, from a long-forgotten nuclear bunker to a tiny hamlet hiding dark secrets. To an ancient church transformed into something sinister.”
In Mother Russia, Quest Fetches You
When it comes to questing, 4A Games doesn’t want to bog players down with menial labor. Instead of having to guard someone’s grandma or hunt for some shiny McGuffin or another, everything you do has a purpose.
“You won’t find pointless fetch quests or busywork in Metro‘s vast, open levels,” the narrator says. “Every objective is narrative driven and woven seamlessly into the main story. You get a map and compass, and the freedom to discover the stories of the wasteland.”
Metro Exodus expands the series’ approach to combat, utilizing the open world aspect to your advantage. Environments can offer bushes or trees to hid and wait for patrols. Depending on your play style, you can bum rush enemy encampments with guns blazing. Or, you can wait for night to fall and use a stealthier approach. The weapon customization fully supports either option. As we saw with the earlier customization trailer, you can slap on a scope, barrel, silencer, and rifle stock to a pistol and take enemies out from a distance.
You can view the six-minute long trailer below. It covers more than what we covered here, going into storytelling and how all your actions have consequences to play out. All of it sounds exciting. Luckily we won’t have to wait much longer to experience what can be seen as the biggest Metro game to date. Will it be the best? We’ll have to wait until it hits the PC on the Epic Games Store on February 15.